brake in period
Senior Member
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 219
Likes: 0
From: Richarson, TX
Welcome to the boards. This is one of those great questions that usually starts fights - kind of like "Whats the best Oil?"
The goal here is to get the bearings and rings to seat smoothly against their mating surfaces without wearing excessively or unevenly. High engine speeds and high engine loads cause extra bearing/ring loads that you want to avoid until these key surfaces are "broken in".
For the first 3000 - 5000 miles drive it easy. Be the last guy away from any stoplight. No hard/fast starts. Keep the rpms down. Keep it under 70 (at least for the first 1k). Try not to pull any trailers. If you go on a long trip, don't use the cruise, and don't drive the same speed for more than 15 minutes at a time, adjust the speed 1-2mph every 10 minutes (for the first 1-2K). After 3k you can begin to ease up on these restrictions
You definitely want to do your first oil AND filter change at 1000 miles. As the bearings and rings wear in there will be lots of very fine metal particles that you want out of your motor. Do your second oil and filter change at 3000 miles. After 3000 miles do your regular schedule. Lots of folks reccomend NOT using full synthetic oil for the first 5-7k miles. The argument is that the oil is too slippery and the rings will not seat properly during this critical period. I recommend using what came with the truck for the first 5-7k miles.
Good luck
The goal here is to get the bearings and rings to seat smoothly against their mating surfaces without wearing excessively or unevenly. High engine speeds and high engine loads cause extra bearing/ring loads that you want to avoid until these key surfaces are "broken in".
For the first 3000 - 5000 miles drive it easy. Be the last guy away from any stoplight. No hard/fast starts. Keep the rpms down. Keep it under 70 (at least for the first 1k). Try not to pull any trailers. If you go on a long trip, don't use the cruise, and don't drive the same speed for more than 15 minutes at a time, adjust the speed 1-2mph every 10 minutes (for the first 1-2K). After 3k you can begin to ease up on these restrictions
You definitely want to do your first oil AND filter change at 1000 miles. As the bearings and rings wear in there will be lots of very fine metal particles that you want out of your motor. Do your second oil and filter change at 3000 miles. After 3000 miles do your regular schedule. Lots of folks reccomend NOT using full synthetic oil for the first 5-7k miles. The argument is that the oil is too slippery and the rings will not seat properly during this critical period. I recommend using what came with the truck for the first 5-7k miles.
Good luck
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 3,017
Likes: 2
From: Decatur,AL
Originally Posted by danieluTM
i just got an new f-150 5.4 and i need to know how long is the brake in period and how do i have to drive it in this period...thank u
